On Oct. 14, 2023, an annular solar eclipse will be visible in parts of the Americas, and some of the best places to view it will be in the scenic U.S. Southwest, including many national parks.
Beginning in Oregon at 9:13 a.m. PDT and ending in Texas at 12:03 p.m. CDT, the path of the solar eclipse will cross over a dozen U.S. national parks, national monuments and other beautiful spots, including Oregon's Crater Lake, Utah's Bryce Canyon and Arizona's Monument Valley.
With low humidity and historically good chances of clear skies in these locations, this spectacular event — the first annular, or “ring of fire,” solar eclipse to be visible in the U.S. since 2012 — is a great excuse to travel, especially because many of the best viewing locations are also International Dark Sky Parks.
Use maps of the eclipse path to double-check that your intended exact location will see a “ring of fire” and will have a clear view of the sun and moon at the exact time of the eclipse. (This interactive Google Map has links to PeakFinder in its pop-up boxes.) However, because the eclipse will be relatively high in the southeastern sky after it leaves Oregon and California, getting an unobstructed view will not be a major problem for most observers.
One of the best viewing spots in Oregon will be Mount Bailey, one of the peaks in the Central Oregon Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge.
For New Mexico challengers, the path also goes almost directly over Sandia Crest in the New Mexico Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge.
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